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Angels-Indians Preview

Aug 20, 2009 - 4:36 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Los Angeles (72-45) at Cleveland (51-67), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Since dropping the opener, the Los Angeles Angels have been unbeatable on their 10-game road trip.

The AL West-leading Angels look for a sixth straight victory while trying to complete a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.

Howie Kendrick drove in two runs and Jered Weaver pitched his second career shutout in Los Angeles' 3-0 win over the Indians on Wednesday. The Angels (73-45), winners in eight of nine, have won five in a row after starting the trip with a 16-6 loss to last-place Baltimore on Friday.

Bobby Abreu added an RBI for the Angels, who had seven players in Wednesday's lineup hitting over .300.

"That's an extremely difficult lineup to face," Wednesday's losing pitcher Jeremy Sowers said. "On top of that, they play small ball better than anyone in the league."

Though he's batting .274 on the season, Kendrick is hitting .333 with seven RBIs in his last six contests for Los Angeles, which has won 22 of 28 road games and is 24-8 since the All-Star break.

The Angels' Vladimir Guerrero went 0 for 4 on Wednesday, but is batting .364 in 14 games since coming off the disabled list Aug. 4.

While Los Angeles is averaging 7.6 runs in its last five games, it has given up two more runs than it did in the loss to the Orioles over the same stretch.

The Angels hope John Lackey (8-5, 3.73 ERA) can build off his last start and continue his recent success against the Indians when he takes the ball in this contest.

Though Lackey is 6-5 with a 3.31 ERA in 13 starts against Cleveland, he's looking to win his fourth straight start versus the Indians. He allowed one run and three hits while striking out eight in seven innings of a 9-3 win over Cleveland on July 29.

The right-hander bounced back from his first loss in a month by allowing one run in seven innings and earning the win in a 5-1 victory at Baltimore on Saturday.

"I think he really showed what he does best," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said of Lackey, who's 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA in his last seven starts. "He usually keeps us up in games, gives you a chance to win."

Shin-Soo Choo is 4 for 9 against Lackey and had two hits Wednesday for Cleveland (51-68), which has been shut out three times while losing five of seven.

Despite the Indians' struggles at the plate, Choo is 10 for 17 against Los Angeles this season.

Justin Masterson (3-4, 4.70) makes his third start since being traded from Boston as part of the Victor Martinez deal. He allowed seven runs and walked five in 3 1-3 innings of an 11-0 loss at Minnesota on Friday.

"I think the key is to learn something from this outing, continue on and get better the next time I go out," Masterson told the Indians' official Web site.

The right-hander, who's 0-1 with an 8.59 ERA in two starts for Cleveland, has a 2.25 ERA and no record in two starts against Los Angeles.